A tale of a musical city: Fostering self-brand connection among residents of Austin, Texas

This research applies branding theories to place and city branding and proposes that internal stakeholders, specifically a city's residents, are relevant and crucial to the brand-building process. Findings indicate that brand attitude, trust, commitment and uniqueness are crucial in the branding and positioning efforts of a city to its residents. When a city's residents trust and are committed to a unique brand, they may form such strong connections with the brand that it becomes reflective of their self-concept. A conceptual model with a theoretical basis in the branding literature is developed to illuminate the antecedents of self-brand connection in the context of city branding. The model is then tested on a sample of residents from an American city that has taken a cultural/entertainment approach to its branding efforts, Austin, Texas. Implications of findings for developing effective brand management systems that appeal to local residents are discussed.